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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. rash — a series
  3. rule — a law
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. rule — government
  13. bore — to tire
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — of a king
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com